


Piano (P)

by EmmyR



Series: Dynamics [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Group Tension, Relationship Problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2014-10-19
Packaged: 2018-02-21 20:25:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2481311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmyR/pseuds/EmmyR
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Only a couple of weeks after they leave the farm, the group is as fractured as ever. Rick does his best, and Daryl is there to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Piano (P)

**Author's Note:**

> This will be part of a series, and I'll try to have the next one up soon. I don't know if they will all be onshots, or if I'll have a couple of longer ones along the way, but we'll see.

No one had spoken in days.

It had been around two weeks since the farm had been attacked. No one really kept track of the days anymore; there was no point. The team was threadbare, the tensions so high that most people would go days without talking. There wasn’t really a whole lot that could be said at the moment. The Greene’s were still struggling with the loss of their home, their family; tragedies that most of them had already accepted. They understood, though, and had an unspoken agreement that they would give the family some time. Glenn was a rock for Maggie and Beth, but mostly Maggie.

The young couple had started sharing a sleeping bag at night, which Hershel didn’t argue with. Maggie still woke with bad dreams on more than one occasion, and it was only Glenn’s soft voice that was able to calm her and lull her back to sleep. He was the older brother to Beth, and helped look out for her in a way that none of the others were really helping with, as they had other worries. Glenn, however, seemed to crave being a part of that family. A part of any family, again, really.

As Glenn began joining a family, there was another that was breaking apart at the seams. Ever since Rick’s confession about killing Shane, Lori refused to even look at her husband. There would be days without a word between them, and they had not had even a passing touch, let alone sleeping together at night, since. Carl was the kid caught in the middle. He had a vague idea of what was going on, he wasn’t blind! He just had no idea how to process this along with everything else. He would lash out at anyone for anything, but no one was going to call him out on it yet.

One night they were around a fire, wishing it was larger, but not willing to risk being seen. The nights were getting freezing cold, and it was clear that they would have to do something soon; they wouldn't be able to continue camping outdoors much longer. Rick was on watch, staring out into the night with his hand resting on his gun. They were a few hours away from the next town, according to their ratty map, but it wasn’t safe to drive at night. He told everyone that they would camp for the night, and see if they could find shelter the following day. He just hoped that this town wasn’t completely overrun with walkers, like the last two had been.

Everyone else was huddled around the fire, eating their first real meal in nearly two days. Carol had found some mushrooms, and Daryl had killed a wolf. A creek nearby had provided some water. It was practically a feast, so Hershel threw in the last can of beans for the occasion.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone shift next to him. It was Daryl, which explained why he hadn’t heard the other man approach. The archer held out a plate to him, silently. Speaking almost seemed taboo; Rick idly wondered if their voices would even work once they started talking again, considering how rarely they spoke.

Shaking his head at the plate, Rick motioned to Lori, who was rubbing her back as she drank a sip of water. He gave her most of his meals lately, and gave Carl some, as well. There were others who needed the food more than he did. Daryl glared at him, eyeing the plate, then Rick again.

Rick turned his back to the archer, though. He was fine, and had gone longer without food the past couple of weeks. His wife, though they might be having marital issues at the moment, needed all of the food that she could get, or risked a miscarriage. And that was a danger at the best of times, but out here with no medical supplies and a veterinarian in place of an OBGYN? That was just asking for trouble.

“Come on, man,” Daryl’s hoarse voice whispered, and Rick’s heart leapt into his throat at the first human voice in some time. “You’ve barely had a handful of meals since the farm. If you don’t eat something, you’ll collapse on us.”

The former cop still didn’t turn around, trying not to be tempted by the smell of cooked meat. “How much has she had?” he breathed, not wanting his words to carry on the wind. The fact that someone was talking to him caused a lump in his throat. While others had spoken to each other, it was clear that most of them were furious with him for keeping things from them. It was hard being a leader when you thought that there was a mutiny around the corner. Carol distrusted him more than the rest, he knew, and Glenn was starting to lose faith. Hershel seemed to trust him, and his daughters followed his lead, but every night that they spent outdoors seemed to shake that trust just a bit more. T-Dog didn’t seem to have changed much, but he seemed the most uncertain, after hearing about Shane.

“She had enough,” he was told, bring him back to the present. “She’s had somethin’ to eat almost twice a day since we left, and T gave her the extra mushrooms on his plate. You’ve gotta eat, man.” Daryl's trust didn't seem to waver at all, Rick noticed. 

Rick could hear the worry in the other man’s voice, so he sighed, shoulder’s slumping slightly. He wanted to argue. There was never enough food, and far too many of them were going hungry. As winter rapidly approached, he knew that it was only going to get worse.

As he deliberated, Daryl finally lost patience, but kept his voice low. “Either you eat it, or I shove it down your throat. Take it or leave it.”

Choking slightly on a laugh, but not really smiling, he reached out with shaking hands and took the plate. There was only a bit of food on it, but it was amazing. He scarfed it down in three bites, accepting the half bottle of water as well.

“You gonna sleep tonight? Glenn offered to take watch, and Beth can cover the other side just to be safe.” Normally Daryl wouldn't have bothered, since Rick was a grown man, but it was clear that he took the role of leader pretty seriously. He had been on watch nearly every night for a while now. 

Rick seriously considered. “Wake me before dawn, I’ll go on a perimeter sweep with you before we head out.”

Daryl just nodded as he turned to head back to his own spot of grass next to the fire. Hershel stirred it slightly to give off a bit more heat as everyone started to turn in for the night. Rick knew, after quite some time of this, that he wasn’t going to be sleeping next to his family. Lori and Carl huddled under a couple of blankets for warmth, and so he found a tree stump to lean against. He shrugged off his jacket and laid it on his chest as a makeshift cover, using the moss on the tree as a piss poor pillow. He missed the tents, but they had been left behind, along with the majority of their belongings, at the farm. 

Just as he closed his eyes, he wondered how much in over his head he was. In the morning, he knew that he and Daryl, like always, would scout the area to make sure it was clear, and to spot any herds that might be headed their way. They would look at the map, and see what roads were best to take into town, trying to avoid anything too large. Maybe, in addition to food and gas, they could also find a police station, or even a gun shop, to get some extra ammunition. It was only a matter of time before they ran out.

For now, though, Rick found he was even more tired than he thought. Everyone was safe, everyone, including him, had eaten that night, and the warmth of the fire was enough to lull him into dreamland.


End file.
